How long was Bob Barker the host of The Price is Right?
AMERICA'S longest-running television game show is The Price is Right.
Before his retirement from the game show in 2007, Bob Barker was the host.
How long was Bob Barker the host of The Price Is Right?
Debuting with the series in 1972, Bob Barker was the host of The Price is Right for over 30 years.
After his retirement in 2007, Barker made a few guest appearances on the show, briefly returning for his hosting duties during a 2015 April Fool's Day prank.
In 2009, Barker showed up on the game show to promote the release of his autobiography, Priceless Memories.
He came back again in 2013 to celebrate his 90th birthday.
When Barker left the show, Drew Carey took over as the host.
As of August 2024, Carey is still the host of The Price is Right.
Who was the first host of The Price is Right?
In 1956, the first version of The Price is Right was released on television with Bill Cullen as its host.
Born William Lawrence Cullen, the game show's first lead was an American radio and television personality from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Several years after Cullen began hosting the series, the show aired its final episode in 1965.
Bob Stewart, the show's creator, premiered a new version of The Price is Right in 1972.
The premise of the current rendition of the game show requires contestants to make successive bids on merchandise prizes.
The goal is to bid closest to the actual retail price of the prize, without going over.
Contestants are chosen from the studio audience, and arrive on stage with the show's catchphrase: "Come on down!"
With thousands of episodes since its debut, Season 52 of The Price is Right premiered on September 25, 2023.
The Price is Right airs on CBS. Episodes of the show are also available to stream on Paramount+.
Who was Bob Barker?
A Washington native, Bob Barker graduated from Drury College (now University) with a Bachelor of the Arts degree in 1947.
Baker also trained as a US Navy fighter pilot during World War II.
He got his start in the entertainment industry while working for a radio show in California.
Ralph Edwards, creator of Truth or Consequences, hired Barker as the host of his game show in 1956.
Barker remained on the show until 1975, also working for The Price is Right.
He married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jo Gideon, in 1945.
The two had no children and remained married until Gideon died from lung cancer in 1981.
On August 26, 2023, Bob Barker died in his own home in Los Angeles. He was 99 years old at the time of his death.
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“It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us," the star's publicist, Roger Neal, said in a statement.
One month later Barker's cause of death was revealed to be Alzheimer's disease.